Closure for containers



May 10, 1932. M. H. M MANN 1,857,353

' CLOSURE FOR counmsns Filed Feb. 10, 1930 INVENTOR Margaret H. McMarm BY @M, @W

ATTORNEYS which receives and Patented May 10, 1932 PATENT OFFICE MARGARET H. MCMANN, OF NEW YORK, N. Y.

CLOSURE FOR CONTAINERS Application filed February 10, 1930. Serial No. 427,110.

The present invention relates to closures for containers such as bottles and jars of glass or other material, and has for its general object the provision of a new and improved closure strnction and low cost, which is easy of application to and removal from the container as-a unit and effectively seals its contents, requiring no special prior treatment of the container itself to effectuate the sealing result.

Tothe above and other ends which will hereinafter appear the invention consists in the features of construction, combinations of devices and arrangements of parts hereinafter described and particularly pointed out in the appended claims.

In carrying out the invention in its preferred form there is provided a body portion of elastic material, preferably rubber or a rubber composition which is open at the top and bottom and formed with three integral inwardly disposed flange portions. The two upper flanges cooperate to provide a groove retains a disc preferably of transparent rigid material such as glass, while the two bottom flanges cooperate with the rim in which the container terminates and which is ordinarily beaded, enlarged or shouldered. The comparatively thin, weblike connection or membrane between the two lower flanges is sufficiently elastic or yieldable to permit variation in their relationship so that when the closure is pressed down over the container top and fitted in place, the said two flanges will co-act with portions of the rim under tension to provide an effective sealing of the contents. The lowermost flange is preferably flared or beveled so as to facilitate the application of the closure to the container and its removal therefrom.

The present construction has advantages over prior constructions in that its disc or stopper portion is securely held in position and itself does not contact with the bottle or container, thereby obviating the necessity of special grinding or finishing of the contacting parts to insure close fitting. The middle or intermediate flange of the present construction is interposed'between the rigid disc of con'iparativcly simple con-,

of the closure and the top of the container thereby providing a seat, and the construction is such that when the closure is applied this middle flange is under compression so that it compensates for inequalities in the disc and the container top and also insures a sealing effect. The invention will be described specifically in connection with the accompanying drawin s, wherein *ig. 1 is a perspective view of one form of closure embodying the invention, and shown detached;

Fig. 2 is a fragmentary, vertical, sectional view showing the closure applied to a container or bottle;

Fig. 3 is a fragmentary sectional view of a modification; and

Fig. 4 is a corresponding view of another modification.

Referring first to Figs. 1 and 2, the con i tainer indicated at 10 is an ordinary style of milk bottle having a neck portion 11, terminating in an open mouth 12, the sides of which are formed by a rim 13, which as shown is beaded or enlarged having a top face 14, a side or perimetric face 15 and a shouldered portion 16.

The improved closure in the form indicated as a whole by the numeral 17 comprises a body portion 18, molded or otherwise formed of an elastic material of rubber or suitable rubber composition, and a substantially rigid top or stopper portion 19, which in the form shown is circular or disc-like, such top being preferably made of glass or other transparent material. The body portion 18 is formed with three internally disposed lips, annuli or flanges numbered respectively 20, 21 and 22, the top flange 20 and the middle flange 21 being similar in form and spaced only a short distance apart to provide an annular groove 23 which receives the top 19. This disc-like top 19 is preferably made of ordinary sheet or window glass and when out out does not require its edges or rim portion to be finished off or smooth as they are covered and concealed within the groove 23. A very cheap and yet sightly construction is thus insured. The material of the body is dicated at 25 for convenient insertion of the fingers when the closure is to be pulled off or removed. The top inner portion of the flange 22 is shaped to cooperate closely with the undercut or shoulder 16 of the rim and this portion is so spaced relatively to the underface of the middle flange 21 that the web or membrane or connecting portion 26 between .the flanges must be stretched somewhatto enable them to engage respectively with the portions 16 and 14 of the rim. In other words, the normal distance between the flanges 21 and 22 is less than the distance between the faces 14 and 16 of the rim, so that these flanged portions are under pull or tension when the closure is in place on the container. Moreover, the diameter of the web 26 is such that it also is subjected to outward tension by reason of its engagement with the rim portion 15. The whole construction is such that the closure throughout is under pull or tension when in place, so that a tight close-fitting or gripping action between the ;closure and container is insured, the middle flange being under a strain in the nature of compression, which insures an effective seal that prevents emission of the contents of the container between its top edge 14 and the ;disc 19, between which two parts the elastic flange or seat 21 is interposed. The elasticity or compressibility of the flange permits of its compensating for any inequalities in the faces of the rigid elements, namely, the con- ;tainer and the disc .so that no expensive finishing of these surfaces is necessitated as would be the case if, as in prior constructions, they were in direct contact with each other. In this connection it is to be noted that only the inner perimeter of the middle flange 21 is cient force is applied.

In the modification shown in Fig. 3 the closure 18 is substantially of the same construction as that shown in Figs. 1 and 2, but modified somewhat in respect of the web 26" and the lowermost flange 22 to accommodate the closure of the container 10 of somewhat different form from the container 10 of Fig. 2, the container 10 having a beaded top 13 more nearly rectangular in shape.

In the modification shown in Fig. 4 the thin disc-like top 19 of the prior constructions is replaced by a thicker crown top 19 which instead of having its rim or perimeter covered and enclosed by the elastic body is itself provided with a circular groove or slotway 27 formed in the perimeter of the top 19 and being of keyhole shape in sectional view. This slot 27 receives the beaded projection or skirt 27* integral with the elastic body 18, which cooperates with the beaded top 18 of the container 10". This construction, perhaps while more ornamental, is not to be preferred to the construction first described; first, for the reason that it is more expensive, the crown top 19 being specially formed and not cut out of ordinary sheet glass as is pref: erably the top 19. Moreover, it is diflicult to form the slot 27, and although the heading 27 is inserted in the slot under a force fit the connection between the top 19 and the top 18 is nevertheless not secure under all conditions.

It will be observed that in all of the constructions there is provided an elastic and compressible seat that is interposed between the container top and the stopper or disc portion of the closure and that this seat serves the further purpose of assisting to retain the disc or stopper portion in place in the body of the container. In the preferred form of the closure member as shown herein, the rubber or elastic material is grooved or formed with a double lip or flange which retains and locks the transparent top or stopper securely in place and covers its entire perimetric portion.

The invention provides a closure which is comparatively simple and of low cost, forming an effective seal to prevent emission of the contents of the container or odors therefrom and also preventing the admission of foreign material or odors to the container. The application of the closure and its removal does not permanently distort it and it may be used repeatedly without reducing its effectiveness.

I claim:

1. A closure for a container comprising a substantially rigid top piece and a body portion in which the top piece is seated with its perimeter enclosed and protected prior to application to the container, said body portion having inwardly disposed flanged por- 131025 spaced apart and connected by an elastic we 2. A closure for a container comprising a substantially rigid top piece. and a body portion in which the top piece is seated with its perimeter enclosed and protected prior to application to the container, said body portion having inwardly disposed flanged portions spaced apart and connected by an elast1c web, the bottom flange being expansible and having its lower cndportion flared or beveled.

' distance between the two flanges being less than the distance between said top and said shoulder, said flanges being connected by an elastic membrane whlch insures engagement r of the flanges with the rim under stress at its top and shoulder portions, said membrane engaging with the outer periphery of the rim under stress, the two flanges of the molded element embracing the disc and being molded to maintain a substantially constant relationship prior to and after receiving the disc between them.

4. The combination with a container having an open mouth terminating in a shouldered rim, of a unitary closure for said container composed of elastic material such as rubber or the like, and provided with three inwardly disposed flanges spaced apart, the bottom flange fitting under the shoulder of the rim and the middle flange engaging with the top of the rim, the normal distance between the two flanges being less than the distance between said top and said shoulder, said flanges being connected by an elastic membrane which insures engagement of the flanges with the rim under stress at its top and shoulder portions, said membrane engaging with the outer periphery of the rim under stress, said closure further comprising a disc top of glass or the like seated between the top and middle flanges, said two flanges havingsubstantially the same relationship before and after insertion of the disc top, the middle flange having the double function of assisting to retain the top in place and also of forming a seal between said top and the upper face of the container.

5. A closure for a bottle or the like comprising a molded elastic element and a relatively rigid transparent disc-like top, said element comprising a generall circular body portion and three inwardly dlsposed flanges spaced apart, the top and middle flanges embracing the disc-like top and having a substantially constant relationship to each other when the disc-like top is both in and out of place, the middle and bottom flanges having a variable relationship, the distance between them increasing when the closure is applied to the bottle.

MARGARET H. MOMANN. 

